Corrupt(92)

I threw my head back. “Michael!”

“Michael?” someone called after me.

And then someone else sing-songed, “Michael, where are youuuu?”

“Michael!” the third one rang out, their voice echoing up the stairs and down the hall.

“I don’t think he’s coming!”

“Or he’s already here!” Will taunted.

“Stop it!” I raged. “Why are you doing this?”

A head nudged my ear, making me jerk. “Payback,” he said in a hard whisper.

“A little revenge,” Will added.

“And restitution for time served,” Kai finished.

Tears streamed down my face. What were they talking about?

Where was Michael?

But then someone grabbed my hips from behind and pulled me into him, his arms circling my waist.

“You belong to us, Rika,” he breathed out in my ear. “That’s what’s happening.”

My eyes widened, and fire spread through my stomach as despair set in.

It was Michael’s voice. No.

“You’re Horsemen property now,” I heard Kai say, “and if you want to have money to eat, you’ll be just as nice to us as you were to Michael last weekend.”

“He said you were a halfway decent f*ck,” Damon chimed in, “but we’ll get you up to par.”

“With some training!” Will boasted, sick amusement in his voice.

“But you won’t like it,” Kai growled next to me. “I promise you that.”

“And if you want college money—or rent money—” Damon threatened, “well then, you better be especially pleasing.”

I hunched forward, feeling sick. I wanted to drop.

What the f*ck?

“Hey, what are we supposed to do when we get tired of her?” Will asked somewhere to my right. “We can’t pay her for nothing, can we?”

“Of course not.”

“I guess we can just pass her around,” Will suggested. “We’ve got friends.”

“Yeah, shit,” Damon interjected. “My father loves the young ones.”

“He used to give you his sloppy seconds,” Kai joked. “Now you can return the favor.”

Michael’s arms tightened around me, and I heaved, trying to clench my stomach to push back down the vomit.

I raised my forearm, clutching the handle of the dagger.

“Come on, Rika,” someone growled, grabbing me by the arms.

And I cried out as I was thrown across the floor, my shoulder hitting the hard marble and the wind knocked out of me.

“Damon!” I heard a deep voice growl.

My face was wet, both of my shoes were gone, and I coughed and sputtered as I struggled to turn over and see what was happening.

But a large body came down on top of me, and I fumbled, trying to push him away and crawl backward.

But he had me. His mouth was in my neck, and his hand was under my ass as he grinded into me.

“You knew this was going to happen between us,” Damon breathed out, biting my ear as he tried to pry open my legs with his other hand. “Open up, baby.”

I screamed, my throat aching raw as I bellowed with everything I had.

I shot my arms up over us, went straight for my dagger, and ripped it off my arm. Bringing it down to my side, I lurched it forward and dug it into his body, on the side of his torso.

“Oh, shit!” he howled, pulling his hands immediately off me and launching backward. “Shit! Fuck! She stabbed me!”

I scurried away, my legs and hands going as fast as they could to get away from them. The blade fell out of my fingers, and my shirt was hanging down my arms, leaving me in my tank top. I spun around and got to my feet.

And ran.

I didn’t look back, and I didn’t hesitate. I raced through the house, entered the solarium, and threw open the doors, diving out into the night. My heart hammered in my chest so hard it hurt, and I felt eyes on me as I hit the grass and bolted across the vast backyard and through the trees.

Something wet coated my shirt, but I didn’t have to look down to know it was blood.

Droplets of rain hit my skin, my feet slid on the wet grass, and I fell to my knees a couple of times as I bolted. I had no idea where the hell I was going.

My mother was in danger, and I had no money. Who did I have to turn to?

The garden shed appeared ahead, and I slowed, suddenly feeling despair take everything I had left.

My mother.

They had an endless amount of money and power to hide this. There were no videos of their deeds this time to get them arrested.

I’d never find my mom, and I’d never get everything my dad left me back. Michael didn’t care about his father or Trevor. He wouldn’t listen to them when they eventually came back, and by that time, it might be too late for my mom.

I had nowhere to go. There was no one to help me.

Running my hands up and down my face, I wiped away the tears, wanting to scream in anger.

What was I supposed to do? Find a phone and call Noah? The only person I could probably reach?

And then what? Where would I go? How would I find my mom?

There was no one to help me.

There was no one to help me but me. You’re not a victim, his words came back, and I’m not your savior.